A trip to Nambung National Park and Pinnacle Desert

We spent Saturday March 21st getting last minute items like a sim card for Michael’s old apple phone and a sweater or two as the weather gets colder here in the fall. Being connected via the sim card has been a godsend when our Skyroam won’t connect and we need to make Australian calls. We found two tiny bunny foofoo’s that are so soft and relieve stress when petted!

One of the areas that was close to Perth and we had the flexibility to get to at the time was the Nambung National Park. So on Sunday the 22nd, we rented a small car. The little car was comfy enough and gave Michael the ability to get used to driving on the left side of the road before we got the larger Toyota the next morning and headed south. This was Larkin’s quest so she did the navigating.

We took Highway 60 North which is called Indian Ocean Drive arriving mid morning at the Pinnacles. It is a desert. It was warm and we learned the new Aussie salute – at least to us – which is wave continually in front of your face to keep the flies away. I learned those little buggers bite if they fly up your sleeve. Over a week later it still itches! Those Pinnacles were out of this world…looked more like mars than earth. It wasn’t crowded once again and when using the restroom or in the little store/museum, people kept their distance. They had hand sanitizer. We bought three to refill on our sling bags. Photo’s just don’t do the pinnacles justice.

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We were about 11 kilometers to stromatolites so headed north to the Cervantes Beach area and Lake Thetis which is still part of Nambung National Park

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A single 1 meter structure may be 2,000 to 3,000 years old.

As we drove north and back south you could see mounds of bright white sand dunes on either side of the highway. Since we had never seen the Swan Valley wine area east of Perth, we took a little jaunt on the way back and headed east and inland. We stopped at Olive Farm Winery and the Cheese Barrel. Little did we know this would probably be the last tasting anyone in Australia would be allowed to have in the foreseeable future. People were still having fun. I tasted a few wines and we bought a few…Michael was driving so he tasted them later. Our little cheese package we bought became lunch the next day at Prevelly Beach when we arrived at our rental home.

After the wine and cheese detour, arrived back in Perth to turn our car in and pack for the next portion of our adventure. Michael and I enjoyed the warm pool on the top floor, finally. It was mostly relaxing or maybe it just felt good. Nothing will take the stress the world is accumulating away! The Blue Rock and its blue iced tea drink were comforts across from our hotel. Restaurants were beginning to limit days and hours as tourist/workers stay home and the government said close except for take out.

The next chapter/blog will be our adventures in Southwestern Australia. Stay safe and distance! Lets count our blessings.